Wedge help

[SUITS]

I’m in a pickle as far as picking a wedge goes. My setup is i210 gap, glide 56/14 , vokey 60k

 

i love the 60 k from the bunkers but I am having a terrible time pitching with it. Do I give up on that with the 60 and get a lower bounce 56? In the vokey 60 D leading edge easier to manage vs the k?

 

I played a ping tour s 60/10 for years. Is there a vokey 60 close to that? I hate to give up the bunker play of the K but it doesn’t seem very versatile 

[Ben B]

17 hours ago, SUITS said:

I’m in a pickle as far as picking a wedge goes. My setup is i210 gap, glide 56/14 , vokey 60k

 

i love the 60 k from the bunkers but I am having a terrible time pitching with it. Do I give up on that with the 60 and get a lower bounce 56? In the vokey 60 D leading edge easier to manage vs the k?

 

I played a ping tour s 60/10 for years. Is there a vokey 60 close to that? I hate to give up the bunker play of the K but it doesn’t seem very versatile 

Short game is very personal, based on one's skill level and confidence and what you are use too. 

 

For me, a 60 is rarely used around the green for basic pitching and chipping unless the greens are super firm and fast. Personally, 99% of my shots around the green are played with either my 48* PW or 56* SW, with the SW taking brunt of the work. I play and have played a 56/10 for as long as I can remember as I find it to be the jack of all trades. The 60 also has 10* bounce so it plays very similar to my 56, but has a little more heel and toe relieve. Used mainly for shorter bunker shots in which the green is running away from me, short sided out of the rough (or similar situations) or like I said, when the greens get all baked out and super fast during the hot summer the 60 may get a little more work around the greens. That being said, I don't keep the 60 in the bag all of the time either. My 14th club is rotated between my 4 wood and my 60, just depends on the course and condtions I am playing in.

 

I grew up with only a 56 so I had to learn how to play most every shot around the green with it, which is why it's my workhorse. 

 

My wedges are Mizuno T22's. 

 

48/8 S-GRIND - Minimal sole grind for fuller shots

52/9 S-GRIND

56/10 D-GRIND - Moderate heel and toe relieve

60/10 C-GRIND - Heavy heel and toe relieve

Edited April 28 by Ben B

[toastinato]

Get a vokey 60 low bounce K. I think it has all the characteristics of the K but low bounce. So you can really manipulate the face to add or take away bounce. I personally really enjoyed it. 

[Hawkeye77]

You can read about all the grinds on Vokey's site but . . . still down to trying them out.  Just for normal shots around the greens the K grind was a terrible fit for me, S grind in 56/60 or 54/58 last time I have Vokeys was what I needed, may not be what you need at all.  I thought "M" would be "it" for example, when I hit it ---- no!  

 

That being said, you may be better off focusing on hitting more shots around the greens with 54 or 56 anyway and trying a bounce/grind in the 60 that will work in the bunkers for you and for when you absolutely need the 60 elsewhere.  Not that hard to get out of the sand.

[Billy_shears]

wedges are super personal and whether one grind or bounce is going to work better is going to depend on how you swing the club and how and where you want to use it. For me every wedge has its purpose.I may make the same type shot using two different wedges depending on my lie or even pin placement. It all goes down to what I want the shot to do. For example I typically use my 56/12 all over but if I know I have a tighter lie I’ll use my 60 and deloft it a bit to essentially get a low bounce 56. 
 

the first thing you should do is really evaluate your playing style and course conditions. Also your swing type may not be a good fit for that grind. You can also take the vokey wedge selector quiz to get a better understanding of where to start for your playing style. Ultimately your absolute best bet is doing a wedge fitting. 

Edited April 28 by Billy_shears

[Bye]

Looks like you have 2 clubs for 1 job.
 

The high bounce K is a one trick pony. It’s great from soft deep sand which is great if you specifically want something for that job.

 

The D grind is really good from sand and is more versatile for pitching and chipping. But from personal experience, if your pitching action is shallow, it’s not the way to go. 

 

It becomes difficult if you want 1 club for all shots around the green. IMO a player needs to be very skillful to really make it work. 
 

I have a 56S grind for basic chipping and pitching from the mown areas (fringe & fairway) and then use my 60M grind for bunker shots and from long grass. The theory being having a narrower sole for mown grass and a wider sole for bunkers and deep rough.

 

It is personal and best to try the options. But there is nothing wrong in having a club specially for 1 job. 

[hammergolf]

19 hours ago, SUITS said:

I’m in a pickle as far as picking a wedge goes. My setup is i210 gap, glide 56/14 , vokey 60k

 

i love the 60 k from the bunkers but I am having a terrible time pitching with it. Do I give up on that with the 60 and get a lower bounce 56? In the vokey 60 D leading edge easier to manage vs the k?

 

I played a ping tour s 60/10 for years. Is there a vokey 60 close to that? I hate to give up the bunker play of the K but it doesn’t seem very versatile 

When you say terrible time pitching, what are the issues? 

[SUITS]

27 minutes ago, hammergolf said:

When you say terrible time pitching, what are the issues? 

I am fine pitching with it when the lie is fluffy but when it’s thin or patchy grass I’m struggling to get the edge under the ball without my hands being way forward or ball way back. 
 

I play ping irons due to the added bouce. My swing is typically steep. I averaged around -5 on delivery last time I did my fitting. 
 

I loved my old Ping tour S 60/10 for everything but bunker play.

[hammergolf]

Just now, SUITS said:

I am fine pitching with it when the lie is fluffy but when it’s thin or patchy grass I’m struggling to get the edge under the ball without my hands being way forward or ball way back. 
 

I play ping irons due to the added bouce. My swing is typically steep. I averaged around -5 on delivery last time I did my fitting. 
 

I loved my old Ping tour S 60/10 for everything but bunker play.

How do you do in firmer bunkers with your K grind? If you struggle there s well, it just has too much bounce. A good alternative would be to go to lower bounce wedge, but keep the wider sole for more turf forgiveness. A low bounce K, S159 H grind, Jaws X grind, MG4 W grind would be good options. However, the best all around wedge I’ve found performance wise is the Cleveland CBX Zipcore. It works great in all conditions due to the sole grind. It’s really good out of bunkers, and rough, but also works off tighter fwy lies with a hands forward technique due to the leading edge grind.

[seemore88]

Tried the 60 M and D before landing on my current LBK. My LBK SM8 with heel and trailing edge relief has been my favorite 60 I’ve ever played. Still moderately forgiving due to the wide sole but I can clip it well off tight lies as well. I’m cringing just thinking about having to order another one due to the cost, but it just can’t be beat for me. 
 

I also have a 54 M bent to 55. That’s the higher bounce option in my bag and I love it as well. They both give me the versatility that works for me. 

[SUITS]

7 hours ago, hammergolf said:

How do you do in firmer bunkers with your K grind? If you struggle there s well, it just has too much bounce. A good alternative would be to go to lower bounce wedge, but keep the wider sole for more turf forgiveness. A low bounce K, S159 H grind, Jaws X grind, MG4 W grind would be good options. However, the best all around wedge I’ve found performance wise is the Cleveland CBX Zipcore. It works great in all conditions due to the sole grind. It’s really good out of bunkers, and rough, but also works off tighter fwy lies with a hands forward technique due to the leading edge grind.

Typically in that scenario I go square to the target with more of a blast out swing. Certainly don’t try to go after if like a typical swing with the K. It’s so forgiving with any sort of standard bunker. 

[SUITS]

8 hours ago, Bye said:

Looks like you have 2 clubs for 1 job.
 

The high bounce K is a one trick pony. It’s great from soft deep sand which is great if you specifically want something for that job.

 

The D grind is really good from sand and is more versatile for pitching and chipping. But from personal experience, if your pitching action is shallow, it’s not the way to go. 

 

It becomes difficult if you want 1 club for all shots around the green. IMO a player needs to be very skillful to really make it work. 
 

I have a 56S grind for basic chipping and pitching from the mown areas (fringe & fairway) and then use my 60M grind for bunker shots and from long grass. The theory being having a narrower sole for mown grass and a wider sole for bunkers and deep rough.

 

It is personal and best to try the options. But there is nothing wrong in having a club specially for 1 job. 

How is the S for full swings? I typically need some bounce for the bottom of the bag 

[ShortGolfer]

I think most folks should have a club just for bunkers.  Why not?  It is easy to lose a lot of strokes in bunkers.

Why make it harder than it needs to be?

 

Right now that club is a Vokey 54/10S,  54 is just the right loft for my swing without manipulating the club face.

I also have higher bounce clubs if I know the bunkers will have soft deep sand to hit out of.

[Bye]

7 hours ago, SUITS said:

How is the S for full swings? I typically need some bounce for the bottom of the bag 

The SM10 version is by far better than the previous versions IMO. The S grind in the older versions always seemed to set a bit flat.

 

Its probably going to be a bit sharper that what you have at the moment, but it performs well all round.

[SUITS]

I’m thinking about keeping the 60k for bunker play and fluffy lies, and adding a 56/10S sm8. 
 

seems like a happy balance of lower voice but not too low. Will start chipping with it hopefully it will not dig too bad on full swings

[mikes919]

4 hours ago, SUITS said:

I’m thinking about keeping the 60k for bunker play and fluffy lies, and adding a 56/10S sm8. 
 

seems like a happy balance of lower voice but not too low. Will start chipping with it hopefully it will not dig too bad on full swings

 

This is basically my approach. My 60K is just a pure specialty club, regular/soft sand and fluffy lies. It's like a magic club for me: aim just behind the ball, hit it square, pops up perfectly. Best greenside bunker club I've ever used.

 

Normally with wedges I want versatility, but in this case it's so good that I'm willing to reserve it just for those scenarios. 54S gets much more general use for chipping and approaches. The S grind allows for a lot more face manipulation, and it's easier to play off a variety of lies.

[North Butte]

42 minutes ago, mikes919 said:

 

This is basically my approach. My 60K is just a pure specialty club, regular/soft sand and fluffy lies. It's like a magic club for me: aim just behind the ball, hit it square, pops up perfectly. Best greenside bunker club I've ever used.

 

Bunker shots are the only time I ever open the club up more than very slightly, in bunkers I open it wide and really try to generate some hand speed.

 

But the K-grind (mine's a 58K) makes that opening up unnecessary. It's back to the way I learned in my first few golf lessons. Just set up with it square, make sure to hit slightly behind the ball and go ahead and swing.

 

The square face K-grind bunker shot is harder to control distance and generate height than the open faced one with speed but it's also waaaay harder to screw up. I like not screwing up, personally. 

[Pepperturbo]

On 4/27/2024 at 1:53 PM, SUITS said:

I’m in a pickle as far as picking a wedge goes. My setup is i210 gap, glide 56/14 , vokey 60k

 

i love the 60 k from the bunkers but I am having a terrible time pitching with it. Do I give up on that with the 60 and get a lower bounce 56? In the vokey 60 D leading edge easier to manage vs the k?

 

I played a ping tour s 60/10 for years. Is there a vokey 60 close to that? I hate to give up the bunker play of the K but it doesn’t seem very versatile 

IME lob wedges are NOT very versatile.  One thing I won't do is have a one-trick pony iron in the bag.

 

I haven't carried a 60' since 2016 when I switched to SM6 M58/8', now SM9 M58/8'.  Even though 58' full swing is 90+ yard s, that seldom happens; it's used around greens, from bunkers and partial shots inside 60yds.  If I have a longer wedge shot, I opt for F52/10'.

 

Best advice, don't overthink it.  Pick the wedges that fit your skill and length. 

[rsballer10]

On 4/27/2024 at 4:53 PM, SUITS said:

In the vokey 60 D leading edge easier to manage vs the k?

In my experience, no. The 60D leading edge may actually sit higher than the 60K from my memory, but I don't own the K grind anymore.

I played a ping tour s 60/10 for years. Is there a vokey 60 close to that? I hate to give up the bunker play of the K but it doesn’t seem very versatile 

S Grind. It's a classic mid grind wedge. 

 

About 5 years ago I went down the wedge rabbit hole and tried every bounce and grind I could get my hands on. There is no right or wrong answer, there is no optimal, there are only tradeoffs.
Conditions and sand change from course to course, and weather changes all the time : therefore I see no need to fit based off these things. I play a 54/10S and a 60/8M but I've played a 60/4T and a 60/12D and even a 60/14K before. These wedges are noticeably DIFFERENT, but any decent wedge player can make any of them work.

 

I use the setup I have now because it will work reasonably well in all conditions. Grind options were basically non-existent to the general public until recently (~10years or so) and it never stopped good players from hitting shots with an open face, hands forward, hands back, etc.

[bunta]

On 4/27/2024 at 4:53 PM, SUITS said:

I’m in a pickle as far as picking a wedge goes. My setup is i210 gap, glide 56/14 , vokey 60k

 

i love the 60 k from the bunkers but I am having a terrible time pitching with it. Do I give up on that with the 60 and get a lower bounce 56? In the vokey 60 D leading edge easier to manage vs the k?

 

I played a ping tour s 60/10 for years. Is there a vokey 60 close to that? I hate to give up the bunker play of the K but it doesn’t seem very versatile 

 

 

Pitching with a 60 is not exactly picnic lol.

 

You already have a high bounce wedge in play with your Glide 56/14. Why not pair it a low bounce wedge ? (WW LBK sounds perfect for you since you like the K bunker play). I doubt a different wedge is going to help with pitching, but hey you get a high bounce/low bounce wedge combo instead of 2 high bounce wedges which you have been playing.

[SUITS]

1 minute ago, bunta said:

 

 

Pitching with a 60 is not exactly picnic lol.

 

You already have a high bounce wedge in play with your Glide 56/14. Why not pair it a low bounce wedge ? (WW LBK sounds perfect for you since you like the K bunker play). I doubt a different wedge is going to help with pitching, but hey you get a high bounce/low bounce wedge combo instead of 2 high bounce wedges which you have been playing.

Got a 56/10 S grind on the way after reading all the helpful comments.

 

i just don’t play as much anymore so the added help with the K is needed. 

[North Butte]

4 minutes ago, SUITS said:

Got a 56/10 S grind on the way after reading all the helpful comments.

 

i just don’t play as much anymore so the added help with the K is needed. 

I have one K-grind and one M-grind wedge. My theory was I'd have it covered if I wanted to keep things really basic, not open the face, etc. with the K-grind or if I needed to play some more "creative" shot with the M-grind.

 

After a year or so with that setup, I'm finding I hardly pay any attention to that big difference in sole widths and grinds. They're just two wedges with different lofts and I tend to play the same types of shots with both. It all ended up being rather less to it than I expected, to be honest.

[jholz]

If you are having leading edge troubles from thin or patchy lies, I assume we are thinning those shots. 

 

If so, are you also experiencing some fat shots? When that happens, is the heel of the club digging? When not fat, do you get the occasional "hot pull"? How about the "bounce rebound" shot?

 

If so, I feel your pain. Been dealing with tons of tight lies this winter/spring, and switched to new wedges in the off-season. 

 

The learning curve has been steep.